


His Bucket List

by Eryiss



Category: High Rollers DnD (Web Series)
Genre: But he also blushes really easily, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, If you squint at least., Lucius is a romantic, M/M, One Shot, Romantic Gestures, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:14:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22866151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eryiss/pseuds/Eryiss
Summary: Every night, Quill leaves his chambers and sneaks onto the main deck of the ship. It's bothering Lucius to the point where he confronts him about it, and discovers something about his friend that warms his heart. And gives him an idea that can make the Aarakocra smile
Relationships: Qillek Ad Khollar/Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	His Bucket List

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where the idea to write this came from, but I wanted to add more content for these wholesome boys. So please enjoy.
> 
> As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much. And I've got a [Tumblr.](https://eryiss.tumblr.com/)  
> Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^

_**** _

_**His Bucket List** _

"He's out there again, isn't he?"

Lucius was leaning against the wall, looking towards Sentry who nodded solemnly at his question. The ship-captain had knocked on the door to Quill's quarters moments ago, but to no response. Sentry, who's room sat opposite Quill's, must have heard the knocking, and her presence had confirmed what Lucius had expected. It made his stomach drop a little.

It had taken a while for anyone to notice, but ever since they had acquired the ship, Quill had developed the habit of sneaking from his room late in the night and standing on the top deck. At first nobody had paid too much attention to it – there was a certain majesty to watching the sky go by while you're above it – but Sentry had started to hear Quill's door opening every night, almost always at twelve midnight. That wasn't somebody who wanted to enjoy the night's sky from a unique angle; this was obsessive.

Nobody had talked to Quill about it. Partly because they weren't sure if there was an actual issue they needed to talk about, and partly because Quill was their friend. If Quill wanted to talk, then he would. He was a sensible man, after all.

Well, a sensible bird. Aarakocra?

But Sentry had brought this up over a month ago. Before Nova had revealed her ILS secret. Before they had gone to the city of glass. Before a lot of things. But still, now they were in the air again, Quill was going back to the top deck at midnight and nobody knew why. And it was really starting to annoy Lucius.

He and Quill had… something between them. Lucius couldn't quite define it, but it wasn't simply friendship. With the occasional flirtatious word, or subtle glance, it was clear that they had a different kind of relationship with each other than they did with the others. They hadnt sat down and talked about what this meant – other, more life-threatening things kept coming up – but it was clear they were more romantic than they were platonic.

So, to know something was wrong with Quill but he was refusing to talk about it, made Lucius feel sad. Maybe that was selfish of him.

"You should talk to him, Lucius," Sentry continued. "Maybe that's what he needs, someone to break the ice."

"Well you've known him longer; it makes much more sense for you to do it."

"You know it's different with you," Sentry smiled. "I won't force you, but it might help."

"Maybe," Lucius mused. "Sorry for bothering you."

"Don't worry about it," Sentry smiled. "What else is a Moral officer for?"

"I suppose so. Goodnight Sentry."

"Night, Lucius."

Sentry closed the door to her chambers, and a single glance at Quill's locked door made up the captain's mind. Rather than feeling upset that Quill had something on his mind, he should use the closeness they shared to try and help. With a brisk pace, he started to walk to the top deck with a look of determination across his features.

When he opened the door to the open air, a rush of cold air hit him, and he wrapped his coat tightly around himself. A few lights – both magical and otherwise – illuminated the deck enough that he could easily Quill.

He was standing at the front of the ship, his wing stretched out beside him. He looked amazing.

Lucius walked across the deck and towards Quill, returning his pace to a normal speed. The wind wasn't too strong considering how high they were, and it wasn't loud enough to drown out the sound of Lucius' boots clicking against the wooden deck. Quill must have heard it as well, as he turned around when Lucius was a few feet away from him. His eyes lit up in a smile as he saw Lucius, who happily returned the gesture.

"Lucius, hi," Quill smiled. He sounded pretty happy. "What are you doing up here? It's the middle of the night."

"Oh, just going for a late-night walk," Lucius made a flicking motion with his hand as he stood beside Quill, leaning on the side of the ship. "What are you doing up here? Again?"

Quill opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself when he heard the weight of Lucius' use of the word again. He sighed a little, looked down over the edge of the ship, and brought his wing down. Lucius frowned a little at that action, hoping that he hadnt said something that would make Quill get all closed up and defensive.

"You noticed that, did you?"

"Your best friend used to look after a child who was always running away, and she now lives across a small hallway," Lucius laughed a little. "Did you really think you could get away with sneaking out?"

"Fair point," Quill laughed as well. He kept his focus on the clouds below them. "You know, I'm okay. I mean I get why you might get worried about me – I'd probably do the same if anyone else was doing this – but I really am okay."

"Then why are you doing it?" Lucius asked, looking at Quill, still somewhat concerned.

"It's just that… okay," Quill took a moment to gather his thoughts, now looking back at Lucius. "Basically since we met, everything's been a rush. We always had a goal, and somewhere to be, and we didn't have any time to just be normal. And calm. But now that we've got the airship, we've suddenly got weeks' worth of traveling when nothing happens. And it's great, it really is, but it's the first time in a while that we've had time to think."

Lucius frowned at that. "Is there something that's worrying you? Because we can talk about it."

"Honestly, it's nothing that bad. It'll be really underwhelming when I tell you," Quill laughed again, and Lucius frowned again. "It was just that, before I met any of you – before I met Sentry even – I had this thing. A bucket list, I suppose. Having time to think about it made me, well, think about it."

"I didn't think you were the bucket list type."

"Well, I wrote it after I lost my wing," Quill explained. "After it happened, all I could do was just think about what had happened, which wasn't great. So I thought, rather than sitting around feeling crap, I could make a list of things I wanted to do and do them."

Quickly assessing Quill's face, he didn't seem too downtrodden about his missing wing. Lucius had noticed that he could often be somewhat dismissive about it – even making jokes from time to time – which always made Lucius frown. He couldn't be sure it his friend actually had gotten over the trauma of what happened, or just didn't want to trouble people with it.

"Did it help?" He asked.

"Yeah, a bit," Quill nodded. "I mean, at the start I put things like write a book and travel the world. They didn't really help because I never thought they would actually happen. Which is funny actually, because we sort of are traveling the world."

Lucius smiled, but didn't speak. It seemed like Quill wanted to keep going.

"But eventually I realised that, if I wanted it to work, it needed to be things that I could actually do. I don't remember all of them, but it was things like baking my own bread, or leaning how to play poker. I think having hot chocolate in the snow was on there. But when things were more tangible, I actually tried to do them. It was nice to have something to do."

"Do you still have it? The list, I mean."

"No. I lost it sometime in the travels. Must have flown out of my pocket or something," Quill shrugged. "But, sorry. Got on a bit of a tangent. Not like us to do that," Both men laughed at his statement. "The reason I am out here is because my long-term goal on the bucket list was to… well. It was to fly again."

"You want to fly again?" Lucius asked, frowning.

"I know it's unlikely. But there's magic and technology, so I tried to be optimistic," Quill smiled again. "But standing here, when we're flying through the sky, I just like to spread my wings. It's as close as I've been to flying since it happened. It feels nice."

Lucius could understand that. Well, not exactly; other than his brief stint with the crown he had never flown. But he could understand why someone who used to fly all the time would want to relive that. even in a small way such as this.

"Why do you only do it at night?"

"It's embarrassing," Quill laughed again. "If I do it at night, less people awake to watch me."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lucius said immediately. "I didn't want to interrupt. I can go if you want, and I won't tell anyone about it if you don't want me too."

"It's fine, Lucius," Quill smiled again, not turning fully to look at Lucius. "I know you'd never make fun of me for it, nobody would. The embarrassment is my issue, and honestly it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. And I'd rather you all know than keep it a secret and have everyone worry about me."

"If you're sure."

Quill smiled again. "Come on, we should get inside, you must be freezing," He laughed. "I don't know how you all manage without feathers. As pretty as some of you may be."

Lucius wasn't sure if that comment was directed at him particularly, but he blushed anyway. When Quill laughed and nudged him slightly, it became clear that Quill had indeed complimented him. That only made him blush harder, therefore making Quill laugh again. It was a vicious, and rather unfair cycle, Lucius thought.

"Well," He said, trying to save face. "You would be the expert on pretty things, wouldn't you?"

The laughter stopped at that, and although he couldn't be certain that any blushing was happening between the thick layer of feathers, the sudden glance away made Lucius thing that he had managed to get the same reaction from Quill. They walked to the inside of the ship side by side, smiling to each other as they did so.

And, as relieved as Lucius was to hear nothing was wrong with Quill, one thing plagued his mind. Quill spoke about what was on his bucket list but didn't say if any of them had actually been crossed off. If they weren't, that wouldn't do.

It wouldn't do at all.

* * *

_**Three Days Later** _

"Lucius," Quill laughed as he rushed down the ship's corridor, Lucius grasping his wrist. "Slow down."

The elf didn't seem to hear Quill's request, and instead continued to drag him through the ship at a pace that reflected his excitement. He had knocked on Quill's door and was almost fidgeting with excitement at whatever he had planned and had dragged him out of his chambers before Quill could say anything. He hadn't given Quill indication as to what he was doing, and the large bag that Lucius had slung over his shoulder didn't help.

It didn't take long for Quill to realise that Lucius was taking him out onto the top deck. This would be about the same time he would have gone to stretch his wing out, so perhaps Lucius wanted to be part of that. Quill would be happy if that was the case, it would be nice to spend time with Lucius alone.

That still didn't explain why he had a bag, though.

Sitting on the deck in the same place Quill usually stood were two sun loungers; where they had come from Quill had no idea. As they walked closer he saw that there was also a camping stove set up in front of them, with one of Howards industrial looking metal pots resting on it.

"Ta-Dah!" Lucius said with a smile, gesturing to what he had set up. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah," Quill smiled. "I'm not entirely sure what it is, though."

"Oh, right," Lucius smiled, reddening a little. "Sit down, and I'll explain."

Quill did as he was told, sitting on the cushioned lounger and leaning back. It was angled back slightly so he was looking at the stars. He watched as Lucius switched on the camping stove, then sitting in the other sun lounger. They were pushed up against each other so both men were shoulder to shoulder. Quill moved a little closer to Lucius without thinking, and he could feel the man relax a little beside him.

"I've been thinking about your bucket list a lot since we talked about it," Lucius began, and Quill looked to him with curiosity. "And I wasn't sure if you had actually done any of the goals, so I thought I could help you."

"You didn't have to do that," Quill smiled, looking at Lucius with fondness.

"Hush," Lucius smiled, brining his bag onto his knees. He looked to Quill before pulling anything out. "Now, I need to warn you, I didn't manage to get them all perfect. So, don't get too excited."

Quill didn't say anything but laughed a little. Lucius rooted through his bag for a few moments before pulling something out. It took a few moments for Quill to realise that it was a deck of cards. The Aarakocra smiled a little; he hadnt expected Lucius to pay any attention to his bucket list – he half expected Lucius to think it ridiculous – but apparently he had. It made him feel warm inside, really.

"Now, I did used to play poker quite often," Lucius began. "However, when I sat down and tried to remember the rules… I couldn't. At all. It's all completely gone. But, don't worry, because I did remember the rules to another card game. And dare I say, a much more advanced game that will be even more impressive."

Lucius was playing it up, and Quill couldn't help but smile. "Right." He said, grinning.

"Really, its possibly the most difficult game you'll ever play," Lucius continued, grinning. "It's called snap."

Quill laughed at that. Of course he knew how to play snap – it seemed impossible to be an adult without having played it once – but Lucius seemed so happy with his theatrics and Quill was washed up in his enthusiasm. It was nice to see him so relaxed; with all that had happened, Lucius had been overwhelmed by his responsibilities.

As Lucius explained the rules of snap, Quill found himself enjoying the elf. He could just sit and watch the man without concern, drink in his upbeat attitude and enjoy the brisk wind that was rushing through his features. It was great.

"So, that's it," Lucius concluded, smiling wide. "Now, I know it's a lot to take in one go, so if something doesn't make sense I can explain it again."

"I think I might have just understood it," Quill laughed.

"Well if that's the case then I won't have to go easy on you when we play," Lucius grinned, picking up the bag again. "But now you can tick learning poker off your bucket list; kind of. So next, making your own bread. I spoke to Howard earlier and he said that he's happy to teach you whenever you're ready. I would have done it, but I tried baking yesterday and, well, this was the outcome."

Quill watched as Lucius pulled something out of his bag. It was loaf shaped, but entirely black. When Lucius offered it to him, the Aarakocra picked it up and laughed a little. It was heavier than any loaf of bread should be, and Quill couldn't help but smile.

"Are you telling me this isn't made by a professional baker?" Quill asked sarcastically.

"Birdie!" Lucius laughed, and the use of the nickname made Quill's stomach jump. It had been a long time since he had heard that.

"I'm serious, people would pay millions for a loaf of bread this perfect. I'm shocked it's not in a museum," Quill continued, and Lucius nudged him in retort.

"Oh be quiet," Lucius laughed. "So I'm maybe not the best at making bread. But I can tell you that I am the best at making hot chocolate. Speaking of which."

Lucius brought two mugs from his bag and sat forward, turning off the camping stove and lifting the metal pot. He poured a smooth brown liquid into both mugs, and the strong scent of hot chocolate made Quill smile softly. When the elf offered him a mug of the steaming beverage, he took it carefully and brought it too his mouth. It really was good; perhaps Lucius really was the best at making hot chocolate.

As Lucius leant back, Quill quickly stretched his wing out so that it curled around Lucius' shoulders. The elf seemed shocked for a moment but smiled and pushed himself closer to Quill's body. They were essentially cuddling now, and Quill found it delightful.

"I know it's not snowing, but I thought it's cold enough out here to be close," Lucius explained.

"No, this is perfect," Quill assured him, taking the mug to his beak again. "Honestly, this is really lovely. Thank you for doing it."

"Don't worry," Lucius smiled, looking down at Quill softly. "It's nice being able to do things like this, especially for you," He was blushing now. "I like making you happy, Birdie. You're my best friend."

Quill smiled. "I like it when you call me Birdie."

"Then I suppose that's what I'll have to call you from now on, isn't it?"

They fell into silence after that, cuddling up with each other as they watched the stars and drank their hot chocolate. Quill found himself unable to stop the smile forming on his features, and he didn't care to try. This had been one of the nicest things someone had done for him. And yes, it was a small gesture really, but the amount of thought that Lucius had put into it just made Quill feel so loved. It was a feeling he could get used to. He couldn't imagine it getting any better.

But then it did. Lucius, after finishing his hot chocolate, leant over and pressed his lips against the side of Quill's beak. It only lasted a moment, but it sent a fire rushing through him, and it was brilliant. He cuddled closer, nuzzling his beak into Lucius' neck as a response to the kiss. Lucius made a small sound of happiness, and it made the Aarakocra's body flush with joy.

He could definitely get used to that


End file.
